You would think it to be a simple exercise.
My nonagenarian father made a simple request that, when the time comes, a park bench be erected in his memory along the path where he has walked daily for so many years. He wants a bronze plaque extolling the virtue of a good daily walk as an expression of gratitude to all the passersby who befriended him during his countless walks there. He even bought the bench and had it shipped, ready to go for, you know, “when the time comes”.
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So far, so good. Now the hard part - what to put on the plaque? There were about 50 different ideas he considered. Here are a few: Share the pleasure of a good walk. To find yourself, go for a walk. Find a path worth walking. Wander wide, but walk by my side. Enjoy the rhythm of a good walk. Walking and thinking just go together. Open your mind and take a walk. Behold the grace to walk your own path. Sometimes, just a random walk is best. “It is solved by walking.” Walk in the grace of gentleness and humility. Walking – good for mind and body. Walking makes the silence sweeter. We then found out that the plaque size is restricted to two lines of text at 20 characters per line including letters and spaces. That sent him back to the drawing board, red pen in hand. A recent NYT article about walking caught my eye. These “walks shouldn’t just be bee lines from Point A to Point B; there should be no set destination, with turns made at random to stimulate the mind. That just basically means a stroll… walking for the sake of walking”. In one of his newsletters, Paul Skallas wrote: “An interesting thing happens when I walk - thoughts pop into my head. Waves of ideas come through. I don’t try to think or even come up with an idea. It just appears. Like Magic.” There’s the heartrate pumping, earbud thumping, count-the-steps walking with its many attendant health benefits. And then there is “the stroll”. The Mediterranean cultures all have a specific name for the concept, which interestingly, do not translate directly to English. For the Greeks, it’s Volta, for the Italians it’s Passeggiata and for the Serbian, Czechs and Slovaks it’s Korzo – all meaning a wander around town. This is a social occasion; a chance for people to catch up with their peers at the close of the day. Walking is never rushed, everyone wanders around at a slow pace, enjoying the fresh air and the atmospheric sight of the sun setting over the water or behind a hill. They find themselves converging in the most scenic areas of the town. By taking time each day for this slow-paced stroll, participants allow themselves an opportunity to relieve any stresses, enjoy good company and to fully unwind. My father settled on the following for his plaque: Great days start with a good walk. The Greeks would add that they end that way, too. |